Thanks for reading. Just got off the phone with Joanne Wilder and you're right, she is on Medicare. I changed the story to reflect the correction. Joanne was pretty impassioned when we spoke yesterday and was using the names of the two plans -- which are obviously quite close -- interchangeably. Sorry for the mix-up!

Thanks for the clarification LeighN! I had checked with the folks at Helping Hounds on their mission and I updated it for the paper but not the web. I just made the change here to better reflect all that they do, which includes a wider variety of dogs now than even a year ago. Thanks for reading!

1) Yes, the general contract for the project was selected through a competitive bid process. According to the county executive's office, 10 bids were received by March 22, 2011 and J&B Installations, of Skaneateles Falls, was the lowest bidder.

2) The roof can handle snow and snowmelt just as well as it can handle rainwater. The 1 million gallons of water annually includes snowmelt. As for buildup of snow, that obviously depends on the storm and the roof will handle it just as well, if not better, than it did before during a big storm. This time though, the snow will melt into the field of sedum, as opposed to down into the sanitary sewer system.

3) Nervous about being in the Oncenter because of the new green roof? You shouldn't be. Someone used the term "overbuilt" for the new roof and it sounds like that's the case. Yes, it's a million extra pounds but it's spread out over an enormous area, which is what the roof is meant to hold. In reporting the story, Matt Millea, deputy county executive for Physical Services, said a team of structural engineers inspected the Oncenter roof and found the roof to be more than capable of supporting the new green roof project. (All of that happened before the project was even announced as possible.) He added that not all buildings can hold a green roof. He said the county has looked into installing green roofs on some buildings but found it's not always possible given the capabilities of the structure.

Technically we're not trying to "compare" the ice creams, just give more information about creative concoctions at popular stands in Central New York -- with a variety of guest tasters to boot. The main reason behind it is because we want YOU, the readers to be the ultimate ice cream judge. We've featured two places (Gannon's and Arctic Isle) with two to go (The Big Dipper and Zem's). Keep an eye out here and in Weekend magazine for details soon about how you can vote for your favorite!

Thanks to John Dwyer who emailed me Wednesday with this suggestion on where to watch the balloons: "This year try going to South Campus, behind the last building there is a trail that goes to the top of a hill."

He included a link to the spot on Google Maps, below. Check it out and keep 'em coming.

Gliderbox, thanks for the post but Syracuse native Carrie Manolakos is not in this Syracuse production of Wicked. She is the standby for Elphaba in the other traveling production, which was most recently in Schenectady and is now in Philadelphia.